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Classy or trashy?

With a neckline that plunged from here to eternity, Mariah Carey’s Golden Globe gown made almost as much of a statement as her drunken acceptance speech at the Palm Springs Film Festival two weeks ago. While she teetered on the edge of classless, there were thankfully some beauties on board to refocus our attention on the glory of the Globes.

Kate Hudson and Marion Cotillard both deserved “nines” (pun intended) for the fabulous couture creations they donned, shining in spite of the gloomy rain. Hudson’s white Marchesa confection, peaking at the bust, nipped at the waist and tailored into a long train at her heels gave her the image of an emerging tulip blooming underneath the shelter of her black umbrella. Cotillard’s one-shouldered deep jewel-toned Christian Dior gown twisted and turned at every right spot, with a slit revealing a fabulous black lace slip and leg seductively peaking out.

Other fashion winners of the night included recently engaged Jane Krakowski in a purple jewel-toned one-shoulder J. Mendel gown, newcomer Anna Kendrick (“Up in the Air”) in a skin-toned one-shoulder Marchesa with jewel details and Toni Collete (“The United States of Tara”) in an Elie Saab creation accented with gold beads to contour the angles of her body.

Jennifer Garner and Julia Roberts didn’t bring their best, but they maintained hints of some old-school elegance. January Jones said she wanted to avoid the ‘60s look made especially popular by her hit show “Mad Men,” but the mod vibes of her straight black Lanvin dress and prominent black headband perched at her hairline screamed “Twiggy!”

It was obvious that Vera Farmiga (“Up in the Air”) and Tina Fey were trying, but both fell a bit short of the fabulous-line with pieces that weren’t quite there. Farmiga’s Dolce & Gabbana jet-black strapless fishtail gown was certainly eye-catching, but as most fishtail gowns go, it failed to flatter the fabulous body we saw in her Golden Globe-nominated film. Fey looked cute in a tiered retro black-and-white Zac Posen dress, but her icy layers didn’t take the cake.

No one was quite as breathtaking as Zoe Saldana (“Avatar”) in a deep rose Louis Vuitton tiered dress, though. The berry color played perfectly with her skin tone as a mixture of silk and chiffon twisted and twirled about her body. Jet and Swarovski crystals embroidered in the ruffles gave her radiance an extra sparkle with every turn. Her success with the gown choice was almost greater than Avatar’s at the box office.

This year’s Golden Globes brought a slew of stars looking gorgeous as usual and surprisingly scattered the red carpet with only a few failures. Cross your fingers that the Oscars in March meet the same success and that those who dropped the ball this time around (Ms. Carey) will pick it up before Oscar comes to town.